Today is World
Water Day. This is the 22nd time we have celebrated World Water Day
after the United Nations General Assembly declared it so in 1993. The theme of
this year’s World Water Day is water and sustainable development, which is a
key issue in Mongolia.
Water is a big
issue in Mongolia. Some parts of the country have extensive water resources
such as in the north, while others have very little. In total Mongolia has
12,635 meters cubed of renewable fresh water per capita, six times as much as
China. However, climate change has caused hundreds of lakes and rivers to dry
up, while environmental degradation and over extraction have also diminished
water supplies.
Water is vital
to all forms of life. Poor quality water can result in disease and death. While
nearly 70 per cent of Mongolia’s population have access to improved drinking
sources, this figure drops to 58 per cent in rural areas (SISS/MICS, 2013).
Even more
important is access to enough water. Water is needed for good hygiene
practices, such as hand washing. Without adequate water people cannot use good
hygiene practices and are vulnerable to hygiene related illnesses and deaths,
such a diarrhea.
Urbanization in
Ulaanbaatar has strained existing water resources, with up to three-quarters of
a million people living in the city’s ‘ger’ districts lacking direct access to
water and sanitation (Mongolia’s total population is three million). In these
areas people use up to 10 liters of water a day, well below the World Health
Organization’s recommended 50 to 100 liters.
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| © UNICEF/NYHQ2010-0448/Cullen |
While Mongolia has made great progress reducing under-five mortality from diarrhea decreasing by 65 per cent between 2000 and 2013, the number of households with access to improved water supplies has stagnated.
Improving
access to water for children is a key part of UNICEF’s effort in the water, sanitation
and hygiene sector. Our focus is on improving access to clean water in schools
and kindergartens in Khuvsgul (northern Mongolia) and Nalaikh (a peri-urban
part of Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar).
And already
these efforts are having an impact, with over 10,000 children in the two areas
mentioned above benefitting from access to improved water and sanitation
facilities through the construction of ground water wells and indoor and
outdoor sanitation facilities.
Moreover, UNICEF
is partnering with the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization and local
communities to improve water safety. UNICEF supported the local provincial
government to develop and implement water safety plans in 12 rural districts
(soums) in Khuvsgul, benefitting over 60,000 people. These plans engage the
local community in treating water so that it is safe to drink and maintaining
the treatment system. They also learn how to monitor the water quality and what
to do if an issue arises.
Following the
success of the program in these 12 districts, the provincial government has
agreed to expand the project to all of the 24 districts and has allocated
funding for this work.
While these
efforts are a start, much more needs to be done. Addressing the water challenges
facing the country is an issue for everyone in Mongolia. As water resources
decrease so too does the country’s ability to support life. Finding a
sustainable solution to this problem will require innovation and resources.
However failure is not an option.
Authors
Batnasan
Nyamsuren, Water and Environmental Sanitation Officer and Robin Ward, WASH
Consultant, UNICEF Mongolia
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